Nakunayo, Sora
by SasukeLuff
Summary: 3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts II. Until the darkness taints one islander again...
1. Cookies and Blood

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My first ever fanfiction, please comment!

_3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again._

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

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----Sky----

I collapsed onto my bed, hearing the familiar groan of the old springs. "Oh man, if I knew high school was this bad, I wouldn't have come back." I groaned, muffling my complaints with my pillow.

"I hope you don't mean that Sora." I looked up to see my mom walking through my bedroom door. She was carrying a platter of my favorite snacks, star-shaped chocolate cookies and cinnamon toast. Of course now I felt completely guilty.

"Of course not Okaa-san, it's just that school is so annoying!" It's definitely no joke to try and make up the equivalent of 2 years of missed school. I munched on a cookie as my mom sat down on the corner of my bed. She placed a soft hand on my hair and ruffled it. I scowled at her playfully and moved my head away. "Okaa-san!" I whined.

She smiled, standing up and starting to walk out of my door before stopping. "Oh, Sora, I baked a pie for Riku-kun so could you drop it off later?" The silly grin that had been set on my face vanished at the mention of my best friend. I almost forgot about him, the poor guy. Although, I'm sure if he knew that I thought that he would kick me from here to Hollow Bastion. I felt horrible; it was my fault that he was stuck in his home. That blow he had taken for me in our fight with Xemnas was apparently really serious. I had known it was bad, it takes a lot to keep Riku down, but I hadn't realized how bad it really was.

"Of course Okaa-san, how about I drop it off right now! I can tell Riku about our lessons so he's not completely clueless." My Okaa-san smiled at me, a sad look in her eyes. I knew she felt bad that we couldn't have Riku stay at our house, but his parents, even if they don't care about him, would never allow it. Riku had the most horrible uptight family. His father was a business man, luckily he was never home. However, his mother and brother were horrible to him. Riku always had to be the 'perfect' son, because his older brother was the 'perfect first-born'. If anyone had known that Riku had run off to other worlds, his father's 'reputation' would be ruined. It hurt my mom's soft heart to think of Riku being stuck in his room, not even allowed to talk to any of his friends. Luckily, my father, who passed away when I was just a baby, was a very influential man, and Riku's father can't offend the family of my 'superior' father. I picked up my dark red backpack and rushed over to Riku's home, snatching the tin of pie from my kitchen.

"Hello?" I was greeted with an icy cold voice that quickly turned to sickly sweetness. "Oh! Sora-kun, what a surprise. I'm sure that you're here to see my son aren't you?" I nodded, pretending not to hear the barely-there sarcasm in Riku's mother's voice as she said 'son'. Riku's mother was beautiful; the silver hair that Riku and his brother had inherited fell to her slim waist. Her icy, green eyes seemed to pierce the soul.

"Ah, Sora-chan!" I heard another horribly sweet voice ring down the stairs. I turned to see a silver-haired male striding down the spiral staircase.

"Kadaj-san." I nodded towards him, my polite exterior not revealing the feeling of disgust deep in my chest. I started up the long staircase, calling that I would be in Riku's room. As I passed Kadaj, I almost felt the icy chill emanating from his pale skin. Kadaj had inherited Riku and his' mother's eyes. I felt the stares of the two green-eyed demons follow me into Riku's room.

Riku's bedroom was pitch-black. I heard a voice from the bed, "Ah, Okaa-sama, what do you want now?"

"Riku?" I called into the darkness, relieved when a lamp was switched on. Blinking at the sudden brightness, I looked around at Riku's picture-perfect bedroom. Riku was laying on his small bed, looking relieved.

His voice sounded a little hoarse as he spoke to me, "Sora! Thank god, I've been going crazy in this hellhole." I looked at him, a sliver of sympathy showing on my face. "No, don't give me that look." He rolled his eyes, "I'm fine in here, it's just a little annoying. Anyways, how's everyone at school?" I sighed, I knew that I couldn't get a truly honest answer easily.

"Everyone's fine. Kairi's having a fun time back at school. Tidus and Yuna are nauseating the entire school populace with their 'love at first sight.' Oh, and my cousin Cloud is coming over tomorrow." Riku nodded, and I went over to sit next to him. "Hey, you okay?" He was holding his side and grimacing a little. Suddenly I felt a little liquid splatter on my gloved fingers. "Wha-. Oh my god, Riku, you're bleeding!" He pulled away, an automatic response.

"I've been bleeding, my wound keeps opening up." He fumbled with his first aid kit until his bleeding wound was covered with fresh bandages. I stood up, wanting to help. "No, I'm fine."

"Haven't you been to the hospital yet?" My brows furrowed angrily.

He shook his head, "Nope. The perfect son is never injured in a 'juvenile' fight." I stared at him, puzzled. He gave me a sarcastic grin, "That's apparently the reason both of us came back with wounds everywhere." This made me see red.

"So, all of our battles, our pain, our sacrifices to defend the world, are being dismissed as JUVENILE FIGHT!" My voice rose to a hysterical pitch. He shushed me, and I made a small oops noise.

The sickly sweet voice of Riku's mother, Jenova, rang up the stairs, "Sora-kun? What's wrong up there?" Riku rolled his eyes, clearly noticing that his mother asked me instead of him.

I quickly called back, "Oh, nothing!" I turned back to Riku. He had sat down on his bed again, breathing heavily. "I have to take you to a hospital!" I hissed at him as I noticed the fresh bandages turning crimson.

"No." His voice was firm, "Even if that wouldn't get you in a lot of trouble later, I'm not even allowed to leave my room."

I gave an exasperated sigh, "When have you ever worried about what you're not allowed to do?" He gave a small smirk, poking my forehead.

"Cause I'm sure that my parents will somehow relate either you or Kairi to me disappearing. I don't want to have the trouble of you guys weighing on my conscience. And before you say anything, yes I have a conscience." I scowled at him. _At least he's acting like his normal self._ However, I can't believe that I didn't notice how different Riku really was. My thoughts were interrupted as Riku gave a horrible cough.

"Riku? Hey man, you okay?" I looked worriedly at him as he coughed continually. He nodded a bit as he coughed. He finally steadied himself and wiped his mouth. Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open. Kadaj stood there, a grin on his face. I looked back at Riku in time to see him go a little pale.

Kadaj gave a triumphant cry, "Riku, Otou-sama is home!" Time seemed to slow, Riku's face showed a split second of… defeat? Another second and it was gone.

Riku stood up, "Well I will have to go greet him won't I." He started pulling me down the stairs with him as he whispered into my ear, "It'll be better if you're not home." He pulled me out of the back door, and I saw him coughing into his right hand again. I looked at him, worried. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He seemed to be denying something. He grabbed the tie of our school's uniform and dragged me onto the sidewalk. He smiled a little, and patted my shoulder with his right hand, then turned away and walked into his house. I started walking home, hearing shouting resonating from Riku's home.

"Sora, did you see Riku?" My mom was out watering her garden.

"Yeah. His Otou-sama just came home." My mom noticed the bitter tone in my voice. She ruffled my hair again and told me to go up to my room.

I collapsed onto my bed again, burying my face in my pillow. I started crying a little, feeling like a little child again. I wish Riku could just join my family. I started changing into my casual clothes as I noticed blood on my shirt. "What the-? Where did this come from?" Crimson splotches colored the right shoulder of my shirt. Puzzled, I threw the shirt into my laundry hamper, wondering about the mystery. I crawled into my bed and fell asleep, my last thoughts being of Riku's horrid cough.

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**This is where I'll be leavin little comments and dropping some hints on what's going to happen next :D  
Ohmygawd Riku! More on his condition in the next few chapters.  
The next chapter will be in Riku's POV :D**


	2. Good Night

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3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again.

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

_Woot! I had a long weekend away from school so I'm able to complete the second chapter of my first ever fanfic! This chapter will shed a little light on Riku's 'defeat' from the previous chapter_

_As always, please leave a review! _

* * *

----Earth----

I cursed through my pain, my wound reopening yet again. I reached over to the first aid kit to re-bandage my wound. It annoyed me that even the best home medical kit couldn't close up the wound. I felt my chest contract. _Not again._ I began coughing, my lungs screaming for relief. Blood splattered onto my hands as I covered my mouth the muffle the sound. The edges of my field of vision turned black and slowly creeped further into my eyes. I sat in a ball until the fit subsided. _What's wrong with me?!_ I straightened up and went to my bathroom to wash off the blood from my face and hands. I returned to my bedroom and walked back over to my bed. As I sat at the foot of my bed, Kadaj burst through my door. God, would it kill him to knock?

"Riku-chan!" He grinned at me, his eyes as cold as ice. I glared up at him for the use of his nauseating nickname for me. His grin faded as he noticed the bright lamp I had turned on by my bed. "You know that Okaa-sama doesn't want you to grow soft in the light." He strode over, purposely kicking my side, and flicked off the bright light. As I clutched my wound, gasping, he gave an almost-hysterical laugh. "Okaa-sama!" He called down the stairs, "Riku's going to get blood on the carpeting again!" Like magic, (I should know, I've used it) my mother was in my room. Her sharp green eyes gazed over to me, her perfect face marred with a look of disgust.

"Kadaj, go bring your brother downstairs again. Riku, I told you to watch that wound." To an untrained ear, this sounded like a motherly thing to say. In truth, my mother was more worried about someone seeing my blood on the floor than about my injuries. Kadaj roughly pulled me down the stairs, banging me on the stair rail. I tried to keep my face steady, but couldn't help the little hiss that escaped through my gritted teeth. I hated how he smiled at my pain, how he only 'helps' me so he can cause more of it. Together we walked into our downstairs bathroom.

"Hey Riku-chan? I think that I'll use some more of our 'special' disinfectant." A sadistic smile rose on his picture-perfect face. I couldn't help a small groan of horror. This disinfectant worked as well as the common disinfectant, but with a catch. It burned like hell; it made you feel as if every cell in your body is being doused with blazing hot acid. Every time that I misbehaved as a child or a teen, I was routinely cut somewhere, than treated with the 'special' disinfectant. Let's just say I usually never repeated the misbehavior. I hated myself for that, the fact that I had to just sit there and take the abuse heaped on me. The only way to fight back was to fight verbally.

"Oh thanks, 'Ani-ue'*. You and mother are so kind." I gave him a defiant smirk. He bashed me on the side of the head with his fist, causing lights to flash in my eyes.

"Trying to be a smart-ass aren't we now?" He grabbed a small red bottle and a cotton ball. Pouring the dark-maroon disinfectant onto the cotton, he ripped off my shirt and bandages. I barely had time to hold back a scream as he dabbed the liquid onto my wound. I clenched my teeth and screamed silently. "Oh, aren't we being awfully brave today? You've been good at handling pain ever since you returned from your little 'excursion.' I wonder if your other two 'friends' are so good with pain?" He had a glint in his eye that I knew well.

"Don't you dare touch them." I panted at him. He smacked my head again, laughing.

"Well, you know what you have to do to keep your precious 'friends' safe." I glared at him for a second more before dropping my gaze to the blindingly white tiles. "Good." He wrapped up my side, deliberately tying the bandages way too tightly. My jaw was beginning to ache from clenching it for so long. I stumbled up the spiral staircase, before collapsing onto my bed. Minutes later, my mother opened my door.

"Riku, I'm sure you know this already, but if Sora ever comes here, don't you dare talk about what happens in this house." Her eyes seemed so snakelike, so deadly. "It would be such a shame to lose Sora-chan, now wouldn't it?"

Hatred boiling inside me, I looked down to her feet, "Yes, Okaa-sama." I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I looked out my window to see Kairi talking with some friends, heading to her house. _She seems alright…_ My door opened again. It was not noisy enough to be Kadaj, so I assumed that it was my mother again. I opened my mouth with my robot like response, only to hear the voice of my best friend.

"Riku?" Sora hesitantly stepped into my pitch-black room. My whole family can see perfectly fine in the dark, a possible reason for my attraction to the darkness. Relief washed over me. He walked over and chattered as he usually did. The endless babble was cut off when he noticed blood on his fingers. My wound had opened yet again. I cleaned and re-bandaged the wound as Sora looked worriedly at me. He continued talking, obviously concerned about me. In my pain-drugged daze, I mentioned how our battle with Kingdom Hearts and Xemnas was being passed off as a small fight. Sora rose to a hysterical pitch. Too late, I realized what I had said. As I calmed him down, I started to cough, but there was no blood, thank god. Moments after I calmed him down, Kadaj burst through my bedroom door again with news. My worst fears were being realized. Those three words I was dreading to hear.

"Otou-sama is home!" Kadaj looked triumphant. Now that my father was home, no one would tell him to tone down his abuse of me. Now Kadaj had his abuse buddy back. A moment of defeat flickered through me. I quickly pulled Sora down the stairs and out of the back door. There was no way that I could allow Sora to meet my father. As I dragged him through our yard I had another attack. Coughing into my right hand, blood splattered onto my hands and I wiped off my face. I gripped Sora's shoulder, partly to guide him out of my yard, partly so that I could have some support. He ran home, and too late I realized I had gotten some blood on his shirt with my hand. I cursed at myself for being so careless. Preparing myself, I walked back into my home, to be greeted with shouts from my father. He was going on about his business, and my delinquent tendencies, and why I couldn't be like my perfect older brother. Trying to drown out the sound of his anger, I remembered the old days, the days of fun and games with Sora and Kairi. All too soon, my father shook me out of my happy memories with a slap across my face.

"Are you listening to me?! You stupid child." Another slap, and Kadaj pushed my onto the kitchen wall.

"Yes Otou-sama, of course Otou-sama." The robotic words seemed to echo in my head. My father grabbed a metal broom and whacked me with it. Soon my brother joined in, his sadistic laughter echoing through our mansion. My mother merely looked on, coldly. Once or twice she warned my father and brother not to get my blood on the wall. Eventually they stopped. They were masters at the art of beating. I was beat enough to be in lots of pain, but not quite enough to permanently scar or kill me. My brother dragged me by the collar of my shirt and threw me onto my bed.

He stuck out his tongue at me, "Good night, dear little brother." Before slamming the door and leaving me to wallow in my misery.

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**Yeah... I'm in a sadistic mood today :3**

***Ani-ue is a way to say 'older brother'**


	3. Please, Please Pick Up

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

_Woot! I had a long weekend away from school so I'm able to complete the second chapter of my first ever fanfic! This chapter will shed a little light on Riku's 'defeat' from the previous chapter_

_As always, please leave a review! _

3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again.

* * *

----Water----

"Kairi-chan!" I turned to see Yuna running towards me. She stopped in front of me, breathing heavily.

"Hey, hey, Yuna, you okay?" I patted her head and she gave me a silly grin. Almost as quickly as it had appeared, the grin faded. I tilted my head at her, questioningly.

"It's…" More heavy breathing, "Riku…" I jolt went through my body. What had happened?!

"Wait, what happened with Riku?" I shook her slightly, "Hey, what happened?!" I knew that Riku was hurt badly, the last thing he needed was more trouble. She shook her head, looking a little surprised at my ferocity.

"No, Riku's father is back. My Otou-san told me that he saw Riku's brother welcoming his father home." My eyes widened. Riku's father, back? I didn't know the man well, other than the fact that he was this great businessman. But, Riku had told Sora and I about the horrible things that his father could do. I sighed, releasing Yuna's shoulders. I furrowed my eyebrows and stared out into the distance.

"Want to walk home together?" Yuna nodded her head vigorously, but then she hesitated. I rolled my eyes, brushing my red hair out of my face. "We can bring Tidus too." Her face brightened instantly.

"I'll go get him!" She said, enthusiastically. I groaned inwardly. Tidus and Yuna were almost impossible to be around. A few minutes later Yuna returned, giggling as Tidus whispered in her ear. I made a gagging noise and she looked at me, blushing. All of us began walking home, and I was constantly rolling my eyes at the displays of sickening affection. We stopped at a park, and I began pushing myself on a swing set.

"Kairi!" I turned to see a perky brunette running towards me. I smiled, my eyes lighting up.

"Sora! What's up?" I paused, looking at his worried face. "What's wrong?" He bit his lower lip and looked down.

"Oh, well… It's just…" He glanced over to Tidus and Yuna. I understood immediately.

"Hey Yuna, Tidus! You guys can go on ahead, you can be alone." I winked at them. Tidus grinned idiotically, while Yuna blushed a deep red. They walked on ahead and I turned back to Sora. "Well? What's wrong?"

"It's Riku!" He blurted out, looking upset. My face paled slightly. "I went to see him and his parents won't take him to the hospital for those injuries he got from that fight and now his father's back and… and…" Sora broke down into tears, collapsing into my lap.

"Sora!" I held him close as he cried. I felt upset as well, but I had to be strong. I couldn't believe that Riku's parents would just ignore those wounds he got. As I held him I thought about what to do. Possibly Sora and I could try and get Riku to run away? I suggested this to him and he started shaking his head.

"I tried to a-ask him… He's afraid that something will happen to us…" He sniffled. I looked at him, this was so typical of Riku. Darkness? No problem. Horribly painful wounds? A walk in the park. Sora and I in the slightest of danger? MAJOR issue. "It's not fair…" I looked down at Sora, who was still crying into my lap. I patted his hair, watching the spikes spring up as soon as I smoothed them down.

"Why don't both of us go visit him tomorrow?" Sora looked up at me. I gave him a, hopefully, reassuring smile. "Oh course Riku's father wouldn't let me see Riku if it was just me, but if your there I'm sure we can see him." Sora gave me his cutest, small smile, his tears drying. I grabbed his gloved hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go home!" Sora stood, wiping his eyes.

"M'kay…" We walked home in slightly awkward silence. It was a few seconds before I realized that he had stopped walking beside me. I turned back, giving him a confused look. He opened his mouth several times before stammering, "U-um, Kairi? Did you ever notice Riku being sickly before?" I was shocked. Riku, a sickly person? Riku was always the strongest of all of us, health-wise at least.

"No! Of course not, he's never been sickly before, you know that. What brought on that question?" Sora shrugged and shook his head. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. He looked away, a small pout on his face. I put my hands on my hips, tilted my head back and sighed. "Well your obviously not going to tell me what's up…" I grabbed his hand and started to drag him along while calling, "You two better not go somewhere without me again!"

"Kairi!" Sora whined, "You know that sometimes we can't bring you along!" I kicked him in the shin. "Ow! What was that for!" Sora yelped, bending down to rub his shin.

"Promise!" I held out my pinky. Sora looked at me, a small exasperated smile on his face, sighing before holding out his own pinky. We locked pinkies and shook. I grinned and gave him a big hug. He blushed while complaining loudly. I glimpsed his watch and gasped. "Oh my god, it's already 5:30?! I have to get home! Sorry Sora!" I ran off to my home. As I started to sprint, I heard a shout over from Riku's mansion. I looked over, and heard more shouting. I couldn't hear anything so I decided to creep closer to Riku's home.

"-told you that you're worthless! You can't do anything right, you stupid boy." Who was that? Riku's father? I recognized the super sweet voice of Kadaj, Riku's brother.

"Well Riku-chan, you can be a good boy or you can be responsible for Kairi-chan's and Sora-chan's 'accidents'" _What!? _I heard thuds and a slight whimper. _Riku's whimpering? What the hell is going on here?!_

I heard Riku's panting and his weak voice. "Don't… you dare… touch them…" I heard a metallic thud and a sickening crunch. Riku yelled out, but he was silenced mid-yell. I covered my mouth to hide my scream. Unable to listen to any more I darted back to my home. I ran up to my room and collapsed against my closed door. How horrible! No wonder Riku was so desperate to get away from home. _Oh my god, what if they kill him!?_ I sat on my windowsill, tears running down my face and clenching my teeth. I gripped my cell phone and dialed Sora's number.

"Please, please, pick up." I moaned, feeling relief wash over me as I heard Sora's perky voice. I shrieked into the phone, trying desperately to make Sora get help.

_Please, please don't let Riku leave us…_

* * *

**So sorry 'bout the uber short chapter ^^"  
Been super busy lately so this is the best I can do, Thank you Airee-chan for the editing work~!**


	4. No Promises

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

_Woot! I had a long weekend away from school so I'm able to complete the second chapter of my first ever fanfic! This chapter will shed a little light on Riku's 'defeat' from the previous chapter_

_As always, please leave a review! _

3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again.

* * *

----Sky----

"Argh! I'm so stupid!" I buried my face in my hands, my face burning. I just ran over to Kairi, like a total moron, and then cried my eyes out and then ran home. What kind of an idiot am I!? I flopped down onto my bed and began to doze off. I awoke to a buzz in my pocket. I looked at the time before pulling out my cell and glancing at the caller ID. "Kairi? It's 10 already, why aren't you asleep?" I hurriedly pulled the cell away from my head as Kairi screamed. "Oh my god, Kairi what's wrong!?"

"No, nothing with me. It's just… just…" She shrieked again.

"Whoa, just calm down Kairi. What happened?" I heard her sniffling and she began to start bawling.

"Can… Can you come over? Please?"

Shocked by the pleading in her voice, I stuttered out, "O-okay, sure." I pushed open my window and clambered onto the large willow outside of my house. Hanging precariously, I slowly shuffled down the tree. Unable to see in the pitch black, I felt a large branch tear a gash in my leg. Swearing, I stumbled off the tree. Luckily my wound was long, but not very deep. Ripping off some of my shirt to bandage the cut, I began to limp over to Kairi's home. Suddenly I felt a hand close down on my shoulder. Stifling I scream, I glanced over my shoulder.

"Sora, it's me!" A disheveled Kairi was gripping my shoulder and beginning to cry. "Hurry and come here!" She began to half-pull, half-drag me over to Riku's house.

"Riku's place? What are we doing here?" Kairi shushed me and dragged me over to the kitchen window. As we walked closer and closer, I heard loud shouting.

"Hey, little Riku, you still up?" _Kadaj?!_ I tilted my ear up towards the window. I heard Kadaj laugh and heard a thud. I heard a cry of pain.

I started to cry out but covered my mouth to silence it. I heard Kadaj dragging Riku out of the kitchen.

A loud voice called from the kitchen, "Kadaj, make sure you don't leave any bloodstains." The voice was responded to by Kadaj, who was laughing, "Sure, but I can't promise anything!"

Kairi started to cry again. I pulled her closer and buried my face in her hair. I stood up and dragged Kairi up. I began pulling her over to a large oak tree.

I pointed up and looked at Kairi. "I used to climb up this tree all the time so I could hang out with Riku. Come on." We began to scramble up the tree, trying to make as little noise as possible. I tapped on the window with a twig, making a loud tapping noise. I jumped a little as the window slowly slid open.

"Sora?" Riku's voice was horribly raspy and weak. I slid into the window and pulled Kairi in with me. "Kairi? Sora, you brought her?""

"No." I quickly turned to stare at Kairi. Her face was red again and she was still crying. "I heard most of what happened downstairs." I couldn't see Riku's face but I could almost feel him go pale.

I looked back to where Kairi was, and back to where Riku was. "What happened?" I reached out to grab Riku's shoulder and shook him slightly, "What did your family do to you?!" Riku gave a small gasp of pain. "Ah, sorry!" After some fumbling around, I located his closet light.

"Don't turn that on. I don't want you to see." Ignoring him, I flipped on the light. I turned back to look at Kairi and Riku and I looked at Kairi's face. Kairi was standing, mouth open, eyes wide. I looked at Riku, and I couldn't take my eyes away. There were dark purple bruises along his arms. Blood was staining his shirt from his wound from Xemnas and from several cuts that were running along his side. Judging from the fact that he was clutching his side, it seemed that he had snapped a rib or more than one.

"R-riku? What the hell happened to you?" He grimaced and breathed heavily, avoiding my gaze.

"It's just my Otou-sama and my Ani-ue's way of telling me 'welcome home'."

"That's just wrong!" I glanced at Kairi for support, but she still seemed to be in shock. "Has this been just recently?!"

Riku gave a hollow laugh, "Recently? Of course not, why do you think I tried so hard to stay away from home? I'm just here now because I have nowhere to go." He started to sound more like his arrogant self.

"That;s a lie." Kairi was looking straight at Riku, who was trying to avoid her stare. "If you run away, or if you defy your family, they're going to try and hurt Sora and I, right?" Riku sucked in his breath, and determinately looked away. I opened my mouth and started to say something, but stopped.

"I don't want you guys to get hurt 'cause of me." Riku mumbled.

"You idiot! Haven't we established that we can handle ourselves?" I was glaring at him, almost on the brink of tears. He gave a dry chuckle, but suddenly he cut off, coughing. I stopped glaring at him and rushed over by his side, as Kairi stumbled in her haste to reach him. Riku was coughing and was doubled over. I touched his back and looked on, worriedly. Riku suddenly fell forward and coughed heavily. Blood splattered onto the floor. "Riku! Are you coughing up blood?!" He tried to respond but choked on a bloody cough. He looked up at me and I was shocked to see the whites of his eyes turning black. His teal eyes were starting to turn yellow.

"T-the hell!?" Riku cried. His eyes searched around. "I can't see!" His coughing started to ease and I was relieved to see his eyes return to normal. For several moments, he lay there, panting.

"What was that Riku?" Kairi stared at Riku, looking horrified.

"I-I don't know…"He held his chest and blood seeped out from his mouth. He slowly got up and stumbled into his bathroom. He came back, blood cleaned off his side, hands, and face. "Sorry." He mumbled as Kairi looked at him, tears still dripping down her face.

I almost laughed, "What are you sorry for? We should be apologizing for being so stupid! We never noticed how badly you were hurt, how horrible your life was!" He rolled his eyes and sighed.

He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders slumped. Suddenly, his head whipped up. Someone began banging on Riku's door. The whole room seemed to shudder.

"Riku! Open this door, you goddamn, useless child!"

Riku stared at the door, "Otou-sama?" He glanced at us and grabbed our shoulders, "Get out! Hurry, or he'll drag you into this!"

As we clambered out of his window I looked back at him, "Stay alive, okay?"

He gave me a grim smile, "No promises." With that, he slammed his window closed and drew down the curtains.


	5. Nightmare

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

_Woot! I had a long weekend away from school so I'm able to complete the second chapter of my first ever fanfic! This chapter will shed a little light on Riku's 'defeat' from the previous chapter_

_As always, please leave a review! _

3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again.

* * *

----Earth----

"Ugh, damnit!" My chest was throbbing, and my eyes were burning. These attacks were just getting worse and worse. I glanced over at my mirror and groaned. I looked absolutely horrible, my eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. I saw the purple bruises along my arms and torso, and tenderly felt my two broken ribs. Just barely brushing them caused large spasms of pain through my body. I managed to look a bit better after a quick and incredibly painful shower. I rested on the ground just in time to hear a loud tap on my window. _Sora?! Now?!_ I flipped open the window lock and pulled open the window.

"Riku?" Oh crap, he brought Kairi… As soon as both of them were safely in my room, they started to bombard me with questions. Suddenly, before I could stop him, Sora flicked on my lights. Instantly, I could tell that Kairi and Sora saw all of my wounds.

"Riku! Where did all of those bruises come from…" I looked away from Sora, then quickly regretted it because my eyes fell into Kairi's. Somehow, it seemed as though she knew how I had gotten so injured. Sora walked over and shook me, shouting, "Riku! Those aren't from-" As I felt my ribs crunch together, I cried out. Sora immediately released me and began apologizing. As soon as I began to recover from the pain, I felt a horribly familiar clench in my chest. _No, no, no, no! Not now, not with Kairi and Sora around!_ Thankfully, this attack wasn't as bad as it could have been. Blood still splattered onto my floor, and my eyes clouded over.

"R-riku?" The attack subsided and I was able to glance over at Kairi. "It's your parents isn't it?" I slowly pulled myself into a sitting position and I spotted Kairi staring at me. She looked at me, a worried expression on her face, "Those injuries…" I looked away, unable to look at Kairi or Sora in the eye. A loud banging resounded from my door, followed by my father's usual shouts.

"Crap!" I grabbed Sora and Kairi and pulled them towards the window they came in from. "Hurry and leave!"

They looked back at me and Sora cried out, "Stay alive, okay?"

Heh, like that was really possible. "No promises." As soon as their silhouettes vanished from view, I turned back to my door. The door unlocked and my Otou-sama walked in. He looked around and lifted his nose to the air.

"…Sora was here..." It wasn't a question. I looked away, and braced for the pain. Instead, I was greeted with a cold laugh. "Well, I guess that makes things easier to tell you. Sora's cousin Cloud is part of a family that does business with me, so you need to make sure that you befriend him. So why don't you go run along with Sora tomorrow and meet his dear cousin." A grin slowly crept up his perfect features.

I looked coldly up at him. "So, I guess I'm heading back to school tomorrow, aren't I?"

"You're nothing but a disgraceful, worthless child when you're home anyways." I smirked, this was typical Otou-sama. I felt a bitter feeling in my heart. Darkness was my drug against this feeling. The feeling of infinite power, the ability to do anything. I glanced at my Otou-sama, and was surprised to see Kadaj standing there, next to him.

"Hey Riku-chan~." He smiled at me, and threw a small pocketknife towards my head. I caught the knife, but my reflexes were slow. Moaning in pain, I held my left hand, which was now bleeding profusely. "Ha, a little slower than before aren't you?" He gave a loud laugh and left, along with Otou-sama. I fell onto my bed as they left, falling asleep almost instantly.

------------

_Darkness, endless twilight. Nothing to see, nothing to feel. Alone? Surely not. I feel a steady drip of liquid down my chest. Glancing at myself, I feel my breath catch. A silver keyblade is lodged into my heaving chest. I hear sobs, nearby, heartbreaking. I try to speak, only to find blood filling my windpipe. _

_Closing my eyes, desperate for release, I try to call to the one near me. "S…s…" Wet blue eyes pierce me._

_"How could you? R…Riku… Don't die…" I attempt to gaze at my surroundings. The black is lifting, the suppressive darkness dissipating. Surely it was Sora or Kairi who had destroyed the darkness. I glance at the sobbing teen near me. _

_"S… Sora…?" No, no, no! This wasn't right! Sora looked into my eyes, hatred etched into the light blue._

_"You killed him! You…" What? So confused… My heart aches… Glancing into the pool of crimson forming beneath me, I see Ansem, no, Xehanort's nobody, looking back up at me. Killed… I killed Xehanort's nobody? No. No, please, no. I pull my hand to my face, and see the sickening man in the pool of blood do the same. NO! I glanced to a previously ignored body next to Sora, only to find my own teal eyes gazing, cold and dead, back at me._

_"S… Sora!" I tried to cry out, I tried to explain. But how could I explain something I didn't understand? "N-no…" Sora had crawled towards me, a look of anger in his face. _

_Gripping the shaft of the keyblade lodged in me, Sora looked up, "Good-bye."_

_------------_

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. I sat up quickly, only to regret it, for the broken ribs scraped each other painfully. Shutting off the annoying alarm clock, I glanced out of my window. The sun was rising, painting the sky a light blue. Dragging myself into my bathroom, I washed my face. Looking up at my mirror, I reassured myself that it was just a nightmare, while tracing the features of my face. I quickly rebandaged all of my injuries, I was getting good at this, and headed downstairs. "Hi!" A loud, falsely perky voice resounded near my left ear.

Glaring at the silverette, I sat down at the antique dining table, "Hello Ani-ue." My Okaa-sama held out a dish with a piece of buttered toast on it. Grabbing the bread, I started out the door.

My Otou-sama looked after me, a cold smile creeping up his lips. "Make sure to become good friends with Cloud-kun, won't you?"

"Riku!" I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Sora and Kairi rushing up to me. Sora was panting heavily and touched my left hand. I winced, and I was sure that he had noticed. "Riku… What is that?" He pointed at the bandages. He looked me straight in the eyes, a fierce look in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

I laughed, the sound feeling unfamiliar, and pushed him on his shoulder. "I go to school, remember? That's what you do when you're 16."

"You know that's not what he meant." Kairi was looking at me, worry lines etched in her forehead.

I dropped my voice low, "I know. I can't tell you guys here, I'll try to tell you later."

A low voice interrupted me. "Sora. What do you expect me to do here if you're not showing me where to go?" I looked at the new addition to our huddle.

"Cloud!" Sora grabbed Cloud's unwilling hand and dragged him towards Kairi and I. "Riku, Kairi, this is Cloud! He's visiting for a while!" Kairi murmured a greeting and I gave him a curt nod, before remembering about my father.

I looked at Sora and hitched a false smile onto my face. "Hey Sora, why don't I show Cloud around? I have to meet my teachers to see what I missed anyways." Sora looked uncertain, but Cloud shrugged and agreed. The tall blond followed me across the courtyard and into the halls of our school. I gave him basic introductions to each of the buildings and facilities and he mostly nodded, sometimes asking a short question. During this entire tour, I had very small attacks, mostly being able to pass off the bloody coughs as a cold.

The first time I heard him speak for a long period of time was when we were alone in a deserted hallway. "Riku is it?" I dipped my chin in response. "You… Your wounds were inflicted on you by someone close to you, you smell of the darkness, and…" He stared at me, his eyes burning into mine. "Those coughing fits you've been having, they aren't normal coughs. I saw the blood and your eyes."

"H-how…?" I choked on my sentence. How could he so easily see through my charade? No one else I knew could.

"That's easy." He replied. "You're just like me. I must warn you though…" He walked closer to me, and I noticed that he was slightly taller than I. He whispered into my ear,

"Your body isn't your own anymore."


	6. Forever

_3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again._

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

My first ever fanfiction, please comment!

* * *

Water

"What the hell was that about?" I was looking at Sora, perplexed. Riku had just dashed off with his cousin and he seemed to be in shock. "HELLO! Earth to Sora!" He jumped and glared at me.

Enunciating each syllable, he shouted back at me, "Yes Kairi, supreme lord of bossyness." I rolled my eyes. Typical Sora.

"Bossyness isn't a word, Sor." I turned to see Tidus, with Yuna wrapped around his arm.

"Yeah Sora, you should really study up on your vocab." Yuna waggled a finger at Sora, increasing his annoyance at the whole situation. Sora loathed Tidus, yet still put up the pretense of being friends with him. Tidus knew way to many secrets about Sora to be free to exclaim them to the world.

I grinned at Yuna, causing her to blush. "So… How was last night for you guys? Was it… Fun?" Yuna blushed a deep crimson, while Tidus laughed loudly.

"I bet you would want to know, virgin angel Kairi." In turn, Sora and I turned red. Yuna buried her face in Tidus' arm, practically screaming with embarrassment. Continuing to taunt me about my sex life, or lack of as the case may be, Tidus walked down the hallways with Sora and I to our first class.

Sitting down at his seat, Sora turned in his chair to talk to me. "Hey Kairi? What do you think is up with Riku?" I shrugged, lines of worry creasing my brow.

It puzzled me. "Why would Riku's parents want Riku to come to school if people might notice his injuries? I mean, they're pretty obvious." Sora looked puzzled too.

"I don't know… Maybe…" He trailed off, his face deep in thought. He suddenly looked back up at me. "Cloud!"

"Sorry?" I stared at him, confusion etched in my face.

"Cloud! Y'know, my cousin?"

"I know that… What about him?"

"His father, he mentioned this to me once, he said that his company was looking for business opportunities with Riku's family's business. So, Riku's father must want him to suck up to Cloud so that their families can be more connected!" As I stared at him blankly, he became frustrated. "RIKU'S FATHER WANTS MONEY!" He shouted, and everyone around us jumped.

Awkwardly laughing off the outburst with the people near me, I kicked Sora from underneath the desk. He made another loud outburst, which I quickly hushed. I looked back at him. "So you think that Riku going to school is just something for his father's business?" He nodded vigorously. I thought for a bit. It sounded weird, yet it seemed like something that Riku's father might actually do. I cut off my thoughts as our English teacher came into the room, and focused on my schoolwork.

----

"Riku!" Sora waved to the silver-haired teen. It was lunch, and Sora had spotted Riku coming out of the school. Riku shook off some girls, he was really popular (ugh), and strode easily towards us. He had a sort of easy grace about him, but only Sora and I noticed the slight limp in his gait, and the deadened look in his aqua eyes.

"Hey." Riku sounded depressed, uncharacteristically so.

I looked at him, my brow furrowed. "What's wro-" He cut me off, pushing his finger to my lips. He shook his head slightly, and motioned towards the teachers at the next table. He got up and Sora and I followed. We all walked into the school garden, where we would be uninterrupted.

He sat down with a sigh. "Sorry guys," he said, running a hand through his long hair, "I have several teachers 'concerned' about me. It turns out that people notice that you have bruises down your arms and bandages on your hand." Sora gave him a 'you think?' look, and I just glared at him. He started to try and laugh, but suddenly clutched at his chest. Covering his mouth with a napkin he had grabbed from the cafeteria, he started to cough violently. Sora and I, slightly in shock, rushed to his side. I stared in horror at the blood seeping through the paper napkin, and Sora seemed to be on the verge of tears.

After his attack was over, Sora looked at him, half-worried, half-angry. "So how are you passing off those coughing fits? How come no one has noticed that your losing pints of blood through the gash on your side?" Riku laughed coldly.

"Well…" He drawled, "I just pretend that I'm ill. Hiding the blood is surprisingly easy, and I just have to keep my eyes closed so no one notices their turning yellow. Actually, I should probably show you two something." With an expression of almost pain, Riku reached up and pinched his right eye.

"What the hell are yo-" I started, but then I stared, dumbfounded. Riku had just pulled out a colored contact, and his right eye was a sickly yellow hue. "No…" He looked away, ashamed.

"Hey… This is a joke right?" Sora seemed to be in more shock than I was. "How the hell could your eyes change color? I mean-" He stopped mid-sentence. "Ansem…" I looked at him, curiously.

"Ansem? Do you mean Xehanort's nobody?" I asked. Sora nodded, and I understood. "Riku…" I started, "Do you think that you're becoming… Him?" I seemed to have hit a sensitive topic.

Riku mumbled an inaudible answer, clearly trying to deny it. Most likely trying to convince himself that it wasn't true. Sora piped up, "Well that's impossible right? Riku's heart is way too strong to be taken over by Ansem again. Right?" He looked at me, almost pleadingly.

Something clicked for me. "Riku… Is it because you're so physically weak all the time? Is that the reason why your heat has become weak?"

Riku shook his head. "No, but I think I know why I'm transforming like this." He ripped out a piece of paper from a notebook he had been carrying and started sketching. "While I was fighting to regain Sora's memories", he sketched himself in his blindfold, "I released Xehanort's nobody's power to defeat Roxas. That probably made me closer to him than before. My family," he drew them, "already has some darkness bred in their bones." He laughed dryly, unconsciously touching his left hand. "So that already gives me a head start on being evil." Sora tried to interrupt here, but Riku shushed him. He drew the heartless symbol down on to the paper. "So now that I'm closer to Xehanort's nobody, and I'm around the influence of my family's darkness, it's causing some sort of reaction in me. It's turning me back into someone of the darkness." He finished by connecting all of his drawings to a sketch of a heartless.

"But! Riku, you already fought off the darkness!" Sora interjected.

"Yeah!" I shouted. I had a feeling about what Riku's was going to say, and I didn't want to hear it.

Riku gave us a weak smile. "Don't kid yourselves guys. It's either I die from this reaction or I become one with the darkness and end up killing everyone on the island. You know I don't want either."

"Right! So just fight off the darkness and we can all live together on the island!" Sora was clearly grabbing randomly at random solutions.

"No." Riku shook his head, and I saw a tear slide down his pale face. "I came here today for two reasons. One was to try to see if I could become good again, but Cloud told me that my worst fears are true. The other reason was to tell you guys goodbye. I love you both, but today is the last day you'll see me. Hopefully after I die, you guys can move on without me."

Sora was crying, and I realized I was too. "Why do you have to die?!" I cried. "You've been through so much! So why?!" Riku looked like he was trying not to burst into tear like Sora and I.

"I already told you… I can't live here on the island. Once of the darkness, always of the darkness." With that, one of the people closest to me in the world stood up and walked away, and Sora and I couldn't stop him. Couldn't stop him from leaving the island, forever.

* * *

**No, it's not over. :3  
Riku only left the island forever, not the world. (or worlds as it may be)  
CLIFFHANGER :D**


	7. Cave Message

_3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again._

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

My first ever fanfiction, please comment!

* * *

Earth

"Ohmygawd, Riku! You're back!" Selphie ran towards me, followed by a few more loud, obnoxious girls.

I took a deep breath and hitched a phony smile on my face, the expression feeling unfamiliar. "Yeah, I've been sick for a while." As Selphie and her friends continued to babble about their typical problems, I glanced my English teacher striding towards us.

"Riku, can I have a word with you?" Mr. Leonhart was a young man, in his early twenties, and when he ever said something, it usually had a lot of meaning behind it.

"Sure Mr. Leonhart, what's wrong?" So used to putting up my 'perfect' façade, I slipped into my old habit of lying easily. "Did Sora do something again?" The girls behind me giggled, and I gave a short, and painful, bark of laughter.

"No. It's not. Now follow me." Mr. Leonhart strode over to a secluded corner of school, an alley behind the gymnasium. He turned quickly towards me. "I know."

A shard of ice went through me, but I laughed to cover it up. "Know? What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Your parents… Why didn't you tell anyone?" He had a serious look in his eyes.

It's over. How many times can my act be seen through in one day? "I… I didn't want to worry anyone." Well, it was half true.

He grabbed my left hand, firmly, but carefully. He unraveled the bandages and stared at the still open cut. "What's this from?"

"My brother." I looked down.

"What did he do? This cut looks really deep."

"Threw a pocketknife at me. It's nothing, I'm used to it. My reflexes were a little slow so I caught the blade instead of the handle." I shrugged, not looking into his eyes.

"He… what?" Looking back at him, I saw shock and horror in his normally expressionless face. I hadn't known that my nonchalant attitude at having weapons thrown at me shocked people so much.

"It's not bad. It'll close up soon." He just stared, dumbfounded, at me. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to not stress out. He was just letting go of my hand when he knocked over a metal pipe that was hanging loosely from the side of the alley. The pipe struck my side and I doubled over, swearing loudly.

"Riku? Riku!" He kneeled down, staring at my side. I was clutching at it again, and the internal injuries seemed to have ruptured again. I coughed up blood, splattering the alley wall with crimson. Mr. Leonhart started to call for help, and I threw out my arm and caught his shirt sleeve.

"I'm… fine…" I imagine that I wasn't too convincing, I was still spitting up blood. After a few moments of agony, I pushed myself into a sitting position. Panting, I tried to get my eyes to focus on Mr. Leonhart.

"Riku? What happened?" His voice emanated panic, something Riku had never heard him do before. He moved my arm that was covering my side and I felt him gasp. I looked down at my side and winced. The wound had opened and blood was flowing freely.

I looked up at him, and my voice was still weak from pain, "Promise me you won't tell anyone." He shook his head in shock and attempted to say something.

"Wh… What happened?" He seemed to be unable to move.

"Nothing you need to know about…" I got up, slowly and painfully. As Mr. Leonhart stared, open-mouthed, I managed to run from the alley and into our school's garden. Ripping up my shirt to make crude bandages, I rebandaged my side. I lay there for a few minutes, until I heard the school bell ring. "Shit…" I murmured. I still was so confused about how Mr. Leonhart had learned about my parents. Dragging myself up, I limped to my small locker and hurriedly put a clean shirt on. Finding Selphie and her group of buddies again, I began to put up my act again. Making it into our cafeteria, I spotted Sora waving at me. Making a lame excuse to Selphie, I headed towards Sora and Kairi.

"What's wrong?" Kairi started to say, but I cut her off. Mr. Leonhart's student teacher and some of the other teachers were eating at a nearby table. I brought Sora and Kairi back to the garden I had been in. After another coughing fit, I showed them the most horrifying thing that had happened that day. In the morning, I had woken up to blood and pain, and after stumbling into my bathroom, I had been shocked to find that my eyes had switched colors. As I pulled out the aqua colored contact, I felt ashamed as I saw their horrified expressions.

"No…" Sora's shock and denial was the worst. I had to draw up a diagram with my theory on my eye color change. These coughing fits seemed to be a part of changing into a heartless, or something like one. Figure, Sora and Kairi get Nobodies, I get blood, pain and probable death. Yeah, that's fair. As I walked away from them, it was almost impossible to lift one foot in front of another. It broke my heart to leave them.

"Riku!" Sora's wail was almost unbearable. Running as fast as I humanly could I raced towards the beach. Getting on a small rowboat, I paddled towards our island. Stumbling into our secret cave, a grin tugged at my lips. Sora and Kairi had written prayers for me to get better on the wall. Tears started to fall from my eyes. I picked up a discarded piece of chalk and began writing. After I finished, I murmured a simple "I'm sorry," and crawled to the locked wooden door at the back of the cave. Summoning my keyblade, I unlocked it and saw the looming darkness. A small, bitter smirk fell upon my lips. I got up, and limped into the darkness, destroying the door on the way in. Sora and Kairi could never find me if there is no way to get to me. Calling their names one last time, I closed my eyes and fell, thinking about our promise from those blissful days, long ago...

"Sorry guys, we never did get to share a paopu fruit."

* * *

**Teehee, another cliffhanger x3**


	8. Memories

_3 months after the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Riku, Sora, and Kairi are back to school and their normal lives before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Until the darkness taints one islander again._

_Sky = Sora's POV_

_Water = Kairi's POV_

_Earth = Riku's POV_

' ' _= Sarcasm_

_Italics = Thoughts_

" " _= Speaking (duh xD)_

_*NOTE* I don't own KH, or Final Fantasy… yet… :3_

My first ever fanfiction, please R&R!

* * *

Sky

It had been 2 months since Riku disappeared. I'm guilty of something, I know it.

"Sora? Honey?" My mom had been the most affected by my dramatic mood change.

"What?" I responded, none too nicely. My mother, who I loved so much was suffering and I hated myself for letting her. But… I couldn't face anyone. Kairi, from what I heard, is better than me. She stayed in school at least.

"Would you like something to eat?" I kept silent. "Sora… Please, we'll find Riku so just-"

"Don't talk about him!" I clamped my hands over my ears, and shut my eyes, trying to hold back the memories.

"Sora, if you just talk you'll feel better. Maybe we should go over to Dr. Gainsbourgh again, she can help you with your nightmares too!" My mother sounded frantic.

"NO!" I tore out of the room and into the comfort of my bedroom. Shutting and locking the door, I slid to the floor, trying to keep out the memories. "No…" I whimpered. I knew there was no use. I shut my eyes and gave in to the pull of my past.

_"Riku! Riku, where are you!" Kairi tried to follow Riku out of the school gardens but she was overrun by the rush of incoming students. My body wouldn't move, my eyes were still focused on the spot where Riku had just been. Kairi collapsed into tears and a group of teachers closed in on her, asking her what was wrong. "Ri… Ri…" Mr. Leonhart pushed the other teachers aside and pulled Kairi to her feet._

_"Come here now. Sora, you too." My head snapped up with the call. I numbly followed Kairi and Mr. Leonhart. We came into an empty classroom and he set me and Kairi down onto chairs. "What happened to Riku?" Mr. Leonhart looked worried._

_"He… He left…" I responded, the truth slowly dawning on me._

_"Left? Why?" Mr. Leonhart looked shaken, his mind working furiously. He shook his head and opened his mouth again, "Never mind. Where do you think he went?"_

_"The cave…" I murmured. Kairi looked at me, and nodded. We both stood up and ran towards the door. Right as we were about to get there, Mr. Leonhart caught us by our wrists. "Let go!" I yanked my wrist from his grasp and tore through the door. Sprinting at top speed, I flew out of the front doors of the school and went straight to the beach. The rowboat was gone. "RIKU!" I shouted, hoping that he was close enough to hear. I dove into the water, I had been able to swim to the island before. About twenty minutes later, I collapsed onto the shore of the island. Panting I heard a loud, wrenching crash. With a burst of adrenaline, I ran to the mouth of the cave. The door in the back of the cave was destroyed, completely shattered. "RIKU!" I dug at the door. "Let me through! Let me get to him! Please…" My hands bloodied, I collapsed into tears. Opening my eyes, I saw a message scrawled in chalk on the wall._

"_By the time you see this, I should be gone. Sora, if you find this, I'm sorry. Forget me. Kairi, if you find this, the same to you. Both of you need to support each other. I hope you can forgive me for leaving suddenly. My coughing fits have been getting worse. If I stay here I'll just die or kill everyone here. Don't think of me as a tragedy._

_I love you both. Good bye._

_Underneath the message, there was a lock of silver hair and a paopu fruit. I took the hair and tucked it into a pocket. I stumbled out of the cave and collapsed onto the warm sand. My mind blank of all thought and emotion. "No…" I murmured. My mind drifted off to darkness as I heard cries from Kairi and my mother..._

"STOP!" I tugged on my brown spikes, threatening to rip them out.

"Sora! Honey!" My mother again. She tried to open my bedroom door to no avail. "Sora!"

"I'm fine!" I snapped. Silence. "I-I'm sorry…" I stammered, "I'll go to Dr. Gainsbourgh… Just… Leave me alone for a bit please?"

"Okay." Her voice was quivering, holding back tears. "Here… Kairi came earlier and left this for you… I'll leave it here." I heard a small thud of a package being dropped on the floor outside the door.

"Thanks…" I opened the door minutes later and took the small brown wrapped package. Unwrapping it, I smiled. It was the first time I had done so in so long. "Kairi… Thank you." I said, as if she was in the room with me.

"Sora! How lovely!" Dr. Gainsbourgh, a pretty brown-haired woman of about 25 walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. I sat awkwardly on the couch, fidgeting with my gloves. I hated it here. Dr. Gainsbourgh was my psychologist, here to help me 'deal with my problems.'

"Um yeah… My mother made me come- I mean… Yeah it's nice to see you too." Dr. Gainsbourgh smiled, her emerald eyes soft and understanding. She sat down on her red chair and took out her tape recorder. Unlike other psychologists, she preferred a tape recorder to a clipboard. She said it made the session more personal.

"So, Sora, what are you thinking about lately?" _Sunshine and rainbows doctor! What do you think I've been thinking about? _I thought furiously.

"Well… Mostly about schoolwork and friends and stuff like that. Oh and-"

"Sora… Can you tell me about Riku?" I froze midsentence.

"I'd rather not…"

"Sora, I can't help you if you're not willing to come out of your comfort zone." Dr. Gainsbourgh patted my shoulder. I cringed away from the contact. "Please? Can you tell me about him?"

I sighed. "Well he was my best friend. He was there with me when Kairi arrived on the island and when we went to fight Ansem-" _Crap! I forgot that our adventures were dismissed as a juvenile runaway story._

"Ansem?"

"Nothing. Nevermind. Riku… He was cool and collected all the time. That always made me so pissed." My eyes glazed over as I fell back into memories of happier times. "He seemed like the type to hate sweet things but he had such a soft spot for my mom's apple pie. We used to fight over who would share a paopu fruit with Kairi." Unknowingly, I had started laughing, caught up in memories. I sharp rap at the door made my head snap up.

"Hey Aerith is this a bad time-? Ah. Sora?" Cloud's spikey head had poked through the door. Dr. Gainsbourgh stood up from her chair, giving a guilty smile at me.

She shook her head at Cloud. "How many times have I told you not to bother me while I'm with a patient?"

Cloud shrugged and looked embarrassed. "I wanted to see you…" Dr. Gainsbourgh blushed deeply.

"Um sorry Sora." She said, "I'll see you again later?"

I gave a noncommittal grunt and left the room. Cloud patted me on the head as I passed him and I gave him one of my rare smiles. I started to walk home when I spotted a rowboat tied to the dock. I climbed in and rowed to our little cave.

"Riku." I murmered. I wandered into the cave and stared at his message. "Why did you leave? We could've… I should've…" I drawled off. Suddenly a bright flash of light lit up the dark cave. I looked over to see the destroyed door mended. A large hooded figure walked through the door.

"So you want to see Riku?" A deep voice emanated from behind the hood.

"Wait. You know where he is? Is he okay?" I scrambled to my feet.

"Yes. He's alright… For now. Currently trapped between darkness and death, he's quite pitiful."

"What are you talking about? Let me see him!" I ran at the hooded figure, only to go straight through him.

"Fine." A dark grin crept across his face. The man conjured what looked like a pitch black mirror. A picture fuzzily appeared on the mirror. Riku lay on what looked like a dungeon floor, blood dripping from his eyes and mouth.

"RIKU!" I banged on the mirror.

"He can't hear you. But, you can see him if you follow me."

"But… I…" I slowly stepped near the hooded man, his hand held out in front of him just like Riku had done so many years ago.

"Sora! Don't!" I turned my head around, staring at the new occupant of the cave.

"Kairi? What are you-" Suddenly my feet collapsed beneath me and I was sucked into darkness, my ears full of Kairi's piercing scream.

* * *

**I'M ALIVE! So yeah, finally updated again. Soon will have more chapters coming. One thing that hasn't changed. I love giving you all cliffhangers ;]**


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